Ladders are made of a variety of materials such as aluminum, wood, steel and heavy duty plastic. Each type of material has their own advantages and disadvantages but one material that is gaining fast acceptance in many industries is the fiberglass ladder.
One of the biggest and most obvious advantages that a fiberglass ladder has over materials such as aluminum and steel is its resistance to electricity and electrical shocks. Some fiberglass ladders do use aluminum rungs but they are properly insulated and kept separate from the main body. As fiberglass is a bad conductor of electricity, they are the ideal type of ladders to use in places such as power line repairs.
Fiberglass is man-made and artificially created. Thus it gains a distinct advantage over wooden ladders as wood being a natural substance can have considerable disparity in quality. If a particular rung is not strong, it can cause mishap without notice. Fiberglass sections that go into creating a ladder are uniform and unvarying is size, strength and design. It improves their strength and makes them inherently safer to use than other ladders.
Aluminum can match fiberglass ladders in terms of strength but aluminum is available in many grades and there is no uniformity in their use among various manufacturers. An aluminum ladder made of cheaper grade material can buckle under heavy load. Another major advantage of using fiberglass ladder is that it can be used in any situation, whether indoors or outdoors as they are resistant to any type of adverse effects due to weather. They do not absorb moisture nor does their quality weaken after frequent exposure to various types of weather.
Fiberglass ladder is flame resistant making it the best ladder to use in firefighting operations. Wooden ladders obviously cannot be used in a rescue operation that involves fighting fires. Aluminum ladders are of course resistant to fire but as they can conduct electricity through water, they are not exactly the safest ladder to use under such circumstances.
A fiberglass ladder is not exactly without drawbacks. They are heavier than wood and aluminum and hence cannot be used in long ladder extensions. Their overall advantages such as longer life and immense strength make them the ideal ladder to use in residential and commercial applications.
